Samsung Galaxy Tab to cost almost £800, according to Amazon

An Amazon listing for Samsung’s new touch-screen, tablet-style computer, the Galaxy Tab, shows the device has a recommended retail price of almost £800

The Samsung P1000, also known as the Galaxy Tab, has a recommended retail price of £799.99, according to Amazon.

The online retailer is offering 15 per cent off, bringing the price down to £679.99, and says the Tab will be dispatched “within one to two months.
If the price listing is correct, it would mean that the Galaxy Tab would cost significantly more than its key rival, the iPad. Prices for Apple’s device start from £429.
Samsung is yet to make an official announcement about the price of the Tab, but it is hoped that some mobile network operators will choose to subsidise the cost of the 3G-enabled Tab in return for consumers taking out mobile data packages for the device.
The Galaxy Tab will also be available in the United States from the four major carriers – AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Samsung held a press conference yesterday to give more details about its tablet computer.
"The Galaxy Tab will redefine the tablet market," said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung’s telecoms division in the US. "We expect to be a major player in this market."
The Galaxy Tab has a 7in screen and runs Froyo, the most recent version of Google’s Android operating system. It has Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity built in, and features two cameras, a three-megapixel lens on the back and a 1.3-megapixel camera on the front for making video calls.
One crucial differentiator between the iPad and Samsung’s device is that the Tab will play Adobe Flash content. Apple has famously jettisoned Flash in favour of rival standard HTML5, but it renders many web pages unreadable on Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

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Nokia appoints Microsoft's Elop as CEO

Mr Elop, the head of Microsoft's Business Division, will take over as Nokia chief on September 21, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Mr Kallasvuo will resign his position on Nokia's board of directors, but continue to chair the Board of Nokia Siemens Networks in a non-executive capacity.

"The time is right to accelerate the company's renewal; to bring in new executive leadership with different skills and strengths in order to drive company success," said Jorma Ollila, Nokia's chairman and former chief executive.

Speculation over the potential departure of Mr Kallasvuo has been rife this year, as the world’s largest mobile-phone maker has struggled in the face of the growing smartphone market.

Since Apple introduced the iPhone three years ago, changing the mobile-phone industry with thousands of applications, Nokia shares have slumped more than 60pc.

The company has yet to develop a smartphone with the same mass appeal and has been forced to cut prices, sacrificing profits to defend its shrinking market share.

"The mobile phone market has changed tremendously over the past 10 years. It's no longer a handset, it's now more about services and operating systems," Hannu Rauhala, a senior equities analyst for Pohjola Bank, told AFP.

He said the appointment of Mr Elop was an acknowledgement by Nokia that its leadership should change to reflect the fact that its product and the entire mobile phone industry had also drastically changed. "I see that they are now looking for a more software-oriented leader," Rauhala added.

Nokia shares rose as much as 49 cents, or 6.3pc, the biggest intraday jump since May 10, on the news and was trading up 5pc at €8.10 by lunchtime in Helsinki.

Mr Elop said: "I am extremely excited to become part of a team dedicated to strengthening Nokia's position as the undisputed leader of the mobile communications industry."

Mr Elop joined Microsoft from network infrastructure company Juniper Networks in January 2008, where he was the chief operating officer.

Mr Kallasvuo has been with Nokia for more than 30 years. He became chief excutive in 2006 when Jorma Ollila stepped down. He has served on the board of directors since 2007.

"The whole Board of Directors joins me in thanking Olli-Pekka for his 30 years at Nokia, during which he has been deeply involved in developing the company and its operations," Mr Ollila said.

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Information Commissioner reprimands Talk Talk

The Information Commissioner’s Office has criticised internet service provider Talk Talk for failing to disclose details of a malware trial that tracked which websites users had visited

Talk Talk, one of the country’s leading internet service providers, has been rapped by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for failing to disclose details of a software trial that gathered information about the websites visited by its customers.

The Information Commissioner said that Talk Talk should have informed its customers – and the ICO – about a trial it was carrying out to help protect web users from websites infected with malicious software.

The system worked in part by scanning the web addresses of sites visited by customers to check for traces of “malware”. All customers were automatically included in the trial, and were not asked to proactively opt in.

Details of the trial came to light after a Freedom of Information request was lodged with the Information Commissioner’s Office, asking it to provide details of meetings that had taken place between the ICO and Talk Talk.

Correspondence between the two parties revealed the ICO’s disappointment that details of the malware trial had not been disclosed to the Information Commissioner’s Office and the ISP’s users.

“I am concerned that the trial was undertaken without first informing those affected that it was taking place,” wrote Christopher Graham, the information commissioner.

“In the light of the public reaction to BT's trial of the proposed Webwise service [which gathered details of web pages visited by users in order to deliver targeted advertising], I am disappointed to note that this particular trial was not mentioned to my officials during the latest of our liaison meetings.”.

But Talk Talk has defended the trial, saying that it was designed to help protect users from malicious software and computer viruses, and that the data gathered was not used for any other purpose.

The company said that by scanning websites, it could generate a ‘blacklist’ of web pages that contained malware and viruses, thereby enabling the ISP to alert customers to the potential risk certain websites posed to their computer. Talk Talk said that 75,000 of the websites visited by users that it scanned contained malware.

“We were simply looking at the URLs accessed from our network, we weren't looking at customer behaviour so we didn't feel we were obliged to inform customers," said Mark Schmid, TalkTalk's director of communications.

“This is all about protecting customers. It is not designed to provide us with data for any other purpose.”

Talk Talk said it still planned to officially roll out the system by the end of this year.

The Information Commissioner’s Office said it would closely monitor Talk Talk’s new service.

“The ICO is currently looking in to the process by which Talk Talk collects data about websites visited on its network,” said the watchdog in a statement.

“We have requested further details about how data is used and will continue to monitor this service to ensure that it complies with the Data Protection Act.”

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Apple IOS 4.1 update ‘still susceptible to jailbreaking’

Hackers have identified a way of “jailbreaking” iPhones running Apple’s new IOS 4.1 operating system, just hours after the software update was released.

A team of hackers, known as pod2g, said they had found a possible exploit, which takes advantage of a loophole in devices running Apple’s IOS platform.

Other hackers said it would be difficult for Apple to plug the exploit, because the company would need to make significant changes to the underlying code of the operating system in order to resolve the problem, rather than simply patch the flaw.

Previous ‘jailbreaks’ – including JailbreakMe, which could be installed on an iPhone just by visiting Jailbreakme.com on the device – exploited software bugs within the platform, and were subsequently easily patched by Apple.

Dev-Team, a team of hackers responsible for writing much of the software used to jailbreak iPhones, said it was still working on a jailbreak for IOS 4.1, and advised users of jailbroken iPhones not to update to the newest software.

This time of year there are lots of new iPhone owners, and not everybody knows that accepting new IOS updates is the surest way to lose your jailbreak and/or unlock,” said the team in a blog post. “While those of you who have Cydia or TinyUmbrella backups of your FW hashes will always be able to get back to 4.0.1 if you make this mistake, this doesn’t hold for unlockers.”

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, has acknowledged that his company is involved in a “cat and mouse” game to try and keep hackers and jailbreakers at bay.

The IOS 4.1 update brings a variety of new features to the iPhone, including High Dynamic Resolution photography, a Game Centre social gaming service, Ping integration and high-definition video uploads.

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IFA 2010: Samsung launches Galaxy Tab iPad rival

Samsung has launched the long-awaited Galaxy Tab tablet computer. The device, officially called the GT-P1000, is powered by Google's Android 2.2 operating system and makes an explicit pitch for the market staked out by the Apple iPad.

Representing a new category of mobile products for Samsung, the Tab offers a 7in display, but, unlike the iPad, can also be used as a phone. Multitouch web browsing, including HTML5 and Adobe Flash, email, voice and video calling is joined by the Android Market for additional apps. Weighing 380g, the device is based on Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone and is designed to be used in one hand. It will launch in the UK in October, and will be available on the Vodafone network. Pricing details will be announced nearer to the launch date.

Samsung recognises the tremendous growth potential in this newly created market and we believe that the Samsung Galaxy Tab brings a unique and open proposition to market,” said Simon Stanford, head of mobile for Samsung in the UK and Ireland.

Like the iPad, the Tab also includes an ebook reading application, call the “Readers Hub”. Powered by Kobo, PressDisplay, Zinio and others, Samsung claims more than 2 million books, over 2,500 magazines in 20 languages and more than 1,600 newspapers in 47 languages will be available at launch. A Social Hub also combines social networking information with contacts information.

Wifi, including DLNA, and 3G connectivity come as standard on the tab, which is powered by a Cortex A8 1.0GHz processor. A front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera is used for video calls, which can be made over 3G, and there is also a rear-facing three-megapixel camera. Samsung will also offer music and video stores for the full high-definition Tab.

The device also includes the new Swype input method, allowing users to drag their finger over each letter, rather than tapping each letter individually to input text. Some mobile operators will offer a second SIM card so customers can use the Tab and their mobile phone from a single account.

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Gmail phone service used to place 1m calls, Google says

Gmail's new phone service has been used to place 1,000,000 calls in the 24 hours since it was launched, Google has disclosed.

Google confirmed yesterday that it was rolling out the new function, which allows users to make direct calls to telephones through its email service using the inbuilt speakers and microphones on their computers, in the US and Canada.

The “Calls from Gmail” service, which was launched with immediate effect following yesterday's announcement, will allow free calls to American and Canadian numbers “for at least the rest of the year”.

Selected British users are also being given access to the function.

Low rates, which could be as low as two cents per minute to Europe, China and Japan, will also be available for international calls.

Writing on the official Gmail Blog, Robin Schriebman, a software engineer, said that the addition was a development of the company’s current, computer-to-computer voice and video chat services.

His post said: "Gmail voice and video chat makes it easy to stay in touch with friends and family using your computer’s microphone and speakers. But until now, this required both people to be at their computers, signed into Gmail at the same time.

"Given that most of us don’t spend all day in front of our computers, we thought, “wouldn’t it be nice if you could call people directly on their phones? Starting today, you can call any phone right from Gmail."

The move will put Google into direct competition with new media companies such as Skype, as well as traditional phone operators such as BT.

It will work by adding another option to the chat list in Gmail, as well as offering a traditional-style on-screen keypad

Todd Rethemeier, an analyst at Hudson Square, told Reuters that Google’s move presented “a risk to Skype”. He said, however, that it was the attraction of cheap international calls that would be likely to drive people to use the service.

Google has not yet announced any plans to operate the service in the UK or on its mobile phones.

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Ten ways to protect your privacy online

As attitudes to privacy are starting to change, here is a short list of some ways you can protect your privacy online:

1) personalised search engine optimisation - strange as it may seem, people are willing to pay for experts to alter how far up Google's listings their name appears when they type it in. The method allows you to keep the bad news private and highlight whatever - true of false - information you desire. As one firm put it: "If you’ve ever Googled yourself and been less than happy with the results, you’ve discovered a need for personal SEO."

2) change your name - stranger yet, Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, has said young people might have to change their names when starting adult life to escape the shadow of their dodgy past. Many adults already use aliases for sites like Facebook so only those who know that know where to find them.

3) change your security/privacy settings - a lot of Facebook users, to name just one social networking site, simply don't bother taking enough interest in this but it offers you some genuine control over who sees what. Do you really want a prospective boss checking what you used to do at the weekends?

4) set strong passwords - this is something online registration has been encouraging for years now but too many people just put in their birthdate, pet's name, or the name of the site. To add to the problem, there are thousands of hacking guides specifically designed to get into Facebook which are available via Google. The best advice remains: use a long, interspersed combination of lower-case letters, capital letters and numbers.

5) untag yourself - social networking sites allow other people to "tag" photos of you but you have the opportunity to remove it, which is sometimes wise. So pay attention when you are prompted to do such things.

6) don't include dates of birth/address/mother's maiden name - such things are almost invariably used as security questions for banks and credit card databases. Therefore giving them up compromises your security and makes it easier to forge your identity, "clone" your cards and steal your money.

7) don't respond to dodgy emails - an obvious one and a bit of an old trick now but people still fall for it. If you get an unsolicited email from an African business (a stereotype but often true) wanting to give you an incredible amount of money for a simple task, delete it. It's a scam. And you could be opening the door for electronic intruders.

8) log out - if you're in a library or some other communal space, people can get onto the machine you've just vacated and dive into your profiles if you have not logged out properly. Clearly this is most important for financial matters.

9) wi-fi - if you've got wi-fi at home, give it a good password (see above). Otherwise it allows intruders in with few barriers to overcome.

10) don't use Facebook - if you're absolutely terrified that someone might learn your darkest secrets or that a German fancy dress evening might backfire later in life. The only certain way to avoid embarrassment is to avoid social networking sites altogether

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1000 new Digg invites

For the past few months link aggegator Digg has been running a closed, invitation only preview of a new version of the site.

The new Digg features a clean new design, is faster to use, and is focused on users building personal recommendation networks, as well as the existing global Top News list.

We've been using it for a while and the new system offers some marked improvements on the old Digg. Not least of which is that we now have our own Telegraph.co.uk hub on Digg, to showcase stories we recommend.

Now we've got 1000 free invitations to join the new Digg before launch. Everyone who claims a free invite will automatically start following the Telegraph.

Click here to claim an invitation to the new Digg

We're also interested in hearing what you think of the new Digg, and what you want from a brand like the Telegraph on Digg. Let us know in the comments below.

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India considers BlackBerry email ban

The Indian government is undecided as to whether it will allow Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, to continue operating its corporate email service in the country next month

Discussions are under way between the Indian government and Research in Motion over how the country’s security services can be allowed to monitor emails and instant messages sent over the BlackBerry communication network.
The Indian government has ruled that BlackBerry Messenger, voice calls and text messages will be permitted after August 31, but that emails sent using the BlackBerry corporate email service could be banned unless a deal can be reached between security agencies and Research in Motion over the best way to monitor electronic mail.

Many governments, including those in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have expressed concerns that terrorists and criminals could be taking advantage of Research in Motion’s heavily encrypted BlackBerry email system to send messages.

Research in Motion said it was working with governments and security services to find ways in which communications could be monitored without fundamentally undermining the privacy of users.

“Discussions will continue for the week and the whole of the next week,” said a spokesman for the Indian government. "BlackBerry services, including phone, SMS and Messenger will run, [but we are not sure yet] about enterprise mail."

There are an estimated 41 million BlackBerry users in India, making it a crucial market for Research in Motion. The Canadian company has told the Indian government that it will come up with a monitoring solution by the August 31 deadline in order to ensure corporate email services are not affected by a ban

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Apple ‘to launch high definition television

will launch an HDTV that integrates its Apple TV set-top box technology and music download service
 in to a stand-alone high definition television, according to a leading analyst
Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, believes Apple will launch an internet-enabled “connected HDTV” some time in the next two to four years that will bring its iTunes music and movie download service directly to the living room.
Munster said that a rumoured forthcoming refresh of the Apple TV set-top box was likely, but that it would be just one part of the overall jigsaw, paving the way for a stand-alone high-definition television that integrated Apple TV’s key features
The new box, expected to be called iTV, is thought to use many of the components found in the iPod touch and iPad, and will have a limited amount of memory. Apple is thought to be readying a new data centre in North Carolina that would support a cloud-based iTunes streaming service, enabling people to stream movies and TV shows to the low-powered iTV, rather than having to store them on the device’s hard drive.
Munster believes a future Apple HDTV would boast these streaming capabilities, and that users would pay around $90 per month for access to content on the iTunes store. The television, combined with the iTunes service, could replace devices such as games consoles, DVD players and even cable or satellite television subscriptions.
"Apple's ability to deliver hardware, software and content that could replace an entire entertainment system with a single TV, puts Apple in a unique position for the emerging connected TV cycle," wrote Munster in a note to investors.
"Apple already has several of the key ingredients for success in the connected TV market, many of which would differentiate Apple from current market players."
However, other industry watchers are less certain that Apple will launch a high-definition television with integrated iTunes.
“I’d strongly disagree that the Apple HDTV was inevitable,” wrote leading analyst Michael Gartenberg on his Twitter feed. “Apple needs to connect with existing screens, not new ones ... [The rumoured HDTV is] not happening.”

It’s not the first time that Munster has predicted Apple’s entry in to the television market. Last February, he said that he expected Apple to “design a connected television. with DVR functionality built in” to hit shops by the end of 2011.
Apple itself seems unsure of the value of connected television services. Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, has in the past dismissed Apple TV as “a hobby”, and said that it would be hard to convince consumers to pay a significant amount of money for a set-top box and monthly subscription when they're used to paying much less for these services.


"The only way that's ever going to change is if you can really go back to square one, tear up the set top box, redesign it from scratch with a consistent user interface across all these different functions, and get it to consumers in a way that they're willing to pay for it,” said Jobs.


“And right now there's no way to do that."

The high-definition television market is worth an estimated $30 billion per year

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